where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Sunday, November 21st, 2010
show: 10:25 p.m.
costs: $9.75 Ticket + $4.00 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $0.00 Jojo Potatoes & half of a Pizza Stick ( my smuggled-in left-over lunch at work ) = $13.75
auditorium: 2
seat: 5th row, 4th seat
synopsis/overview: A husband, John Brennan ( Russell Crowe ), who believes that his wife, Lara ( Elizabeth Banks ), is innocent, resorts to a desperate act when her last court appeal is rejected: Breaking her out of prison.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) The double date; 2.) Arrest; 3.) Conjugal visit; 4.) Playground; 5.) Written testimony; 6.) The talk with the lawyer; 7.) Hospital; 8.) "What part of our life is exactly under our control"; 9.) Ex-con tips; 10.) Surveillance; 11.) The plan; 12.) Mugged; 13.) Bikers; 14.) Don's diner; 15.) How to lock-pick; 16.) Bump key; 17.) Nauseated; 18.) Stake-out; 19.) Cookies; 20.) Tennis ball; 21.) Parking-lot incident; 22.) "Then, you'd be wrong"; 23.) "I promise you, this will not be your life"; 24.) Robbery; 25.) Bus stop; 26.) Handshake; 27.) Packing-up; 28.) Switched records; 29.) "What kind of criminal drives a Prius" 30.) Ambulance; 31.) Hospital; 32.) Subway; 33.) Emergency brakes; 34.) Zoo party; 35.) Trash; 36.) Second suicide attempt; 37.) At the zoo; 38.) Piecing the evidence; 39.) Passengers; 40.) "You know what direction they're going in, smart ass"; 41.) Coin; 42.) Ticket counter; 43.) Customs; 44.) "'Ever asked yourself why we found this bag and not the others"; 45.) "This guy's a teacher"; 46.) World atlas; 47.) Kiss; 48.) "She heard a button pop"; and 49.) The storm drain.
favorite scene: I love the one with the ingenious use of a tennis ball. I've got to try it someday!
audience reaction: There were about half a dozen people in the auditorium with me. But I didn't hear a word from them ( they sat in the back ) once they got settled in.
recommendation: I didn't like how at the end this movie didn't show a satisfactory resolution. Although the acting was good, the ending could have been better. This is strictly a rental.
spoiler alert! The way that the cylindrical murder weapon ( i.e. the fire extinguisher ) was used would have shown, upon examination, that at the force of impact the fingerprints were jarred from their original positions, leaving tell-tale smudge streaks in place. So, when she picked up the fire extinguisher, her fingerprints which were clearly set in place--glaringly so if the murderer wore gloves ( I don't recall )--should not have been construed to be those of the murderer. I thought that for US passport photos you have to clearly show at least an ear. You would think that a medical lab van that has a remote key would also have an automatic alarm turned-on the moment that its doors are remotely locked--it's a vehicle transporting important medical records after all! Lara started out with bleached-blonde hair with half an inch of dark roots; three years later, her hair changed to reddish-brown with about two inches of dark roots. Why couldn't the movie's hair stylists ( Yep, there were three of them ) settle for just one color? Either make Lara be blonde-haired or auburn-haired--or how about just good ol' brunette-haired--because the dark roots were just too visually distracting to me! The street drug deal was too laughably obvious to be believable. While John was staking-out the drug dealer, he looked at his watch, only to show that it wasn't working since the second hand didn't move at all ( in an approximately three-second elapsed time interval ) the first time around! There were at least eight shots fired in that house--spaced far apart, mind you--but no neighbor, it seemed, called the cops in time. I would have shot the bad guy as he was kicking-out the basement door. John probably left his prints on the front door knob in his hasty exit. Even criminals know better than to use their own car while committing a crime! I thought that the Chevrolet Traverse has safety door locks--you know, the kind that won't let you open a door if the vehicle is traveling more than 8 mph ( Heck, even my 1994 base model, no air-bag, Geo Metro, by Chevrolet, came equipped with this safety feature as part of the standard package! ). Again, you cannot push a car door that isn't a "suicide door" wide open ( and, much less, hold it wide open ) if the vehicle is traveling at freeway speeds! And who held the door open for her while she was leaning out when her husband had his left hand on the steering wheel while his right hand had a firm grip on her? She should have been scissor-pinched by the passenger door! When they got back in the Traverse, he leaned over to lock the door when he could have done so easily from his side via the control panel conveniently built-in on the driver side's arm rest ( I googled it so I know that it's there )!
fyi: Within the last 24 hours, I did an experiment on the freeway. As I drove at 65 mph, I opened the driver's side door of my Hyundai Accent and tried to keep it wide open. I couldn't do it. But I did manage to freak-out the driver behind me, though! Ha, ha, ha--snort! ( I can be crazily funny at times! )
word of advice: Don't leave a trail behind.
Don't be predictable.
tidbits: I was gonna go to Edwards Fairfield Stadium 16 & I-Max to catch the last showing of the Harry Potter movie in I-Max. But, as it turned out, the last showing was for 10:15 p.m., not for 10:45 p.m. And I was scheduled for work until 10:00 p.m. There was just no way for me to travel approximately 20 miles to catch the 10:15 p.m. show. So, I just opted to see this Russell Crowe movie here in Vallejo, instead.
